Rapeseed prices reached unprecedented heights

In Germany, UFOP reports that prices for both rapeseed and soybeans have been flying high since the beginning of the year. Rapeseed recently closed in the four-digit range for the first time, while soybeans also hit a record high.

Paris futures market quotations for rapeseed have been climbing virtually unchecked for several months. The main reason for the strong price surge over the past few weeks is the crisis in the Black Sea region which was sparked by the Russian invasion in February 2022. Reports about the war in Eastern Europe fuelled prices at the international futures markets every minute at a time when prices were rising anyway due to tight supply to the market. Shortages in supply due to the absence of contractual delivery volumes from Ukrainian ports of export are now having a bearing on the entire global market. Concerns about global supply bottlenecks have also led to export restrictions or even bans, like the one the Indonesian government imposed on 28 April 2022. This situation caused rapeseed prices at the Paris stock exchange to explode. According to investigations conducted by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (mbH), price fluctuations of up to EUR 68 per tonne in one day were the order of the day in March 2022. Currently, stock exchange prices are driven by snow and cold spells in Canada, where rapeseed sowings should be underway. Prices exceeded the level of EUR 1,000 per tonne for the first time. More specifically, the May 2022 nearby closed at EUR 1,064.50 per tonne on 21 April 2022. The close compares to EUR 561.75 per tonne at the same time a year earlier and as little as EUR 366.75 per tonne in April 2020. This means that stock exchange prices almost tripled within two years.

Soybean prices in Chicago have been rising since the beginning of the calendar year 2022. The focus in the soybean market has been on growing and harvesting conditions in South America and the US as well as brisk demand. Lack of rain diminished the yield potential of the current soybean crop in Brazil noticeably. Argentina is also likely to bring in a considerably smaller harvest than previously expected because of poor growing conditions. This drove prices at the CBOT to the equivalent of EUR 590 per tonne on 21 April 2022, which was not only close to the level of EUR 600 per tonne, but also a new record high.